Lionel Messi Will Reportedly Face Court Trial for Tax Evasion Charges

The case against Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, for tax evasion took another turn on Friday as the judge denied an appeal from the Barcelona forward. It sets the stage for a court trial.

The Daily Mail passed along word of the decision:

BBC News reports the ongoing litigation surrounds image rights. Spanish officials claim the pair avoided more than €4 million in taxes by filing fraudulent returns during a three-year period starting in 2007. Potential punishment includes six years in prison and a large fine.

The report also included comments from Messi after learning of the charges.

"We have never committed any infringement," he said on his Facebook page. "We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advices of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation."

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

In June, it appeared the younger Messi was set to get dropped from the case. Dermot Corrigan of ESPN reported the Barca forward argued he had no knowledge of any illegal activity concerning untaxed revenue from image rights.

A judge agreed, stating there was no evidence to suggest he was directly involved with the alleged misconduct. There were plans to move forward with the case against his father, though.

Now the latest twist. EFE (via AS English) reports a magistrate in Barcelona has thrown out the appeal of the football superstar:

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Despite support from the public prosecutor's office for the appeal presented by Messi on the basis that it believes that there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the player, and which requested 'the dismissal of proceedings to that effect,' the public prosecutor challenged the appeal and the judge ruled that it is a 'subjective opinion' that Messi 'was on the periphery of the financial, contractual and tax management of his income,' despite his father's control over those matters.

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Just when it looked like Messi could get cleared of the charges, the case once again moves to the forefront. No dates were released for a potential court trial, and it's unclear if any new evidence emerged to suggest the Argentine international knew more than previously reported.

It's also currently unknown whether the case could force him to miss time for Barcelona.